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Friday, December 9, 2011

Back to Writing

Back to Writing

During the holiday season, I have not only been inspired to give and help others but I managed to find my writing abilities. It has been a long season of writers block. Attending writing groups helps motivate. Listening to successful writers inspires. But sometimes that isn’t enough to kick yourself in the butt and write something.

Here are a few tips if you are struggling to get into the swing of writing again:

Remove some of the stress in your life- it will help improve the creative thoughts.

Make sure to get enough sleep- it doesn’t always help when trying to write exhausted.

Eat healthy- it makes you feel better.

Start writing. Give up on writing a novel. Start small and let the words flow onto the paper.

If you’re like me and have difficulty writing on a computer (because you like the old fashioned way of writing with paper and pen) work on breaking that habit. Only so much can be written with paper and pen while the words fly onto the screen typing.

Don’t judge what you are writing. Just do it!

Find a setting that you enjoy (like going to a coffee shop where you can sit by a fireplace, enjoy the jazz music playing, and get comfortable with a big, cozy, leather chair, and type your heart out).

Make sure to find time and exercise. This not only keeps you healthy but it can also help improve creative thoughts.

Have classical or jazz music playing in the background as you write.

Go back and read your work later. Don’t do it right away because you will criticize, try to change things as you go, and then the process of writing stops.

If you’re struggling with writing what you normally write, try something else. (Writing articles, songs, short stories, poems, novels, screenplays, etc. Writing is writing; just get something on paper because you’ll probably use those new thoughts later on.)

Also, take time to read. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand.

And if none of this works, make a game of it. There are plenty of writing games. (ex. Fill in the blanks with random words to come up with stories. Or you write one section, let someone else write another section, etc. until the story is complete). These are fun. The stories barely make any sense. They make you laugh, but they also help you stay creative, fresh, and give new ideas.